Nuro, backed by NVIDIA and Toyota, is testing autonomous cars in Tokyo to evaluate its platform in challenging urban conditions. Learn about its goals and partnerships.
© Nuro
American startup Nuro, backed by NVIDIA, Toyota, and Uber, has begun testing its autonomous vehicles on the streets of Tokyo. According to Bloomberg, the company has deployed several cars in the city, with safety drivers currently at the wheel as required by Japanese law.
Tokyo is considered one of the most challenging megacities for driverless technology. Narrow streets, dense traffic, and left-hand driving create significant demands on autonomous systems. Nuro's CEO Andrew Chapin described the trials in Japan as a kind of stress test to evaluate the platform's capabilities under international and infrastructural complexity. The company's ultimate goal is to achieve Level 4 autonomy, where the vehicle can operate fully independently under specific conditions.
Another major market player, Waymo, is already active in Tokyo, partnering with local taxi operators and Toyota. Nuro has not yet revealed which partners it will work with to develop the project in Japan, but it emphasizes that it is not limited to robotaxis. The company is focusing on a universal autonomous platform that can be adapted for various transport and service formats.
In the U.S., Nuro is preparing to launch a robotaxi service with Uber and Lucid in San Francisco later this year. Uber, in turn, plans to deploy up to 100,000 autonomous vehicles by 2027, including 20,000 robotaxis based on Lucid and Nuro technologies. The Tokyo trials could become a crucial step in this broader strategy.